Clarksville weekly chronicle. (Clarksville, Tenn.) 1873-1890, 1887-06-25

The Item OF Rent Out OF proportion 20
q Poor Mans Income--what Becomes
OF the Famiiics?--Justices as Peace
makers.
II the number Of faamilies in New York
which hire their rooms from month to
month be taken to be between 1850 900 and
$4,000, then over one-tenth Of these fam
lilies have been turned. out of their homes
during the year The records Of the eleven
district courts prove it, -Four district
courts alone will show that they have
issued some 10000 dispossess summonses,
each one of which was notice to family
to pay up or go.
To say that there were some 10000 FINN
flies driven OFT Of their homes last year
carries only part of the meaning. The
average number Of persons in those poor
families is greater than in rich or wcll-to-
do families 1t is q fair estimate to say
that In those 10000 families there were
120, 600 men, women and children, most
Of whom were unable to earn sufficient
living. The item Of rent was q great one
with them, out Of proportion to what 10 Is
to q man with moderate income. A
laborer earning 81 day, or 500 month,
has to pay from SO. so to $40 rent, or over
q third Of his income, while working
man who gets SO. 90 day will not pay
over $18 o month rent. With majority
of those 20, 900 families the rent was more
than they could bear and they succumbed
Tho head of the family may have been
sick, on q spree or out of work The
family could economic in food, fuel and
al h.rk4 hax ltxyaI 4,st ha ~.
tenements already and the rent forced
them out 1t Is puzzle where they go.
UNDER THE LAW.
The dispossess proceedings in the courts
do not by any means give the full number
Of families who are forced from their
hcmss by various reasons. Under the law
the landlord must give notice TO their ten
ants first, and thousands Of tenants, know
ing that to disregard the notice viii only
bring forcible eviction, sell or cast away
their furniture, and wander out into the
city ut once. On the money obtained
from this sale OF their furniture they may
live while, and then nobody notices how
they are swallowed up.
OF course there is another side to IL q
few cases, and there are professional rent
evaders, who take advantages Of the tech
nicalities OF the law, the leniency of the
justices to the poor and the multitude Of
worthy cases, to escape paying rent when
they could II they would When tenant
hires from month to month he can hold
over for another month IL not notified to
30 i've days before the first day OF the
next month. Otherwise he can hold on,
and II no rents by the year no can hold on
for another year. Or II he l. behind In his
rent he can make the landlord prove
ownership, previous notice, specific con-
tract and violation OF 1t before no can be
forcibly elected. II Is not easy for the
landlord te do all this IL the tenant chooses
to fight.
Notwithstanding the general impression,
drunkenness and shiftlessness In themselves
are not the immediate cause of many evic.
tons. A mans drunkenness may cause
him to lose his place, and then, without
work, he has no income, but a. long as he
works his wife usually manages to get
enough Of his pay to pay the rent Lack
OF work and sickness or death In the family
are the main causes Of falling behind in
the rent. The family get so far behind in
their rent that Ii is next to impossible to
pay up, and they are evicted, sell all they
can Of their furniture, and start over again
in new neighborhood. II the father gets
work then and Is in good health he may
regain home. II he doesn't, his family
breaks up, and he may become tramp, a
criminal or pauper.
JUSTICES AS PgAcEMAKERs.
AS a rule, the civil justices try to act as
peacemakers between the landlord and
tenant Where the tenant Is able to pay
they usually succeed. In all cases they
give the tenant time, and try to prevent
forcible election by the marshals. In not
over quarter Of the cases is 1t necessary to
call In the assistance Of marshal TO get
the tenant out. Attached to several Of the
district courts is charitable organization.
In extreme cases the justices and clerks al
the court chip in to pay the rent.
Several Ct the justices talked about their
experiences with eviction cases. They are
much alike. The following from Justice
Mccarthy speaks for the other east side
districts:
"There were some 1850 dispossess pro
ceedings in tho Fifth district court this
| year. In not over third Of them was
| forcible action taken. In the others this
tenants moved as soon as they saw 1t was
| inevitable. Three-Quarters of the cases
were tor arrears in rent. The others were
where the landlord had given the tenant
notice to leave at the end Of the month
and the tenant had not left Some of the
cases sre professionals. They come w
several times year. They would rather
move than pay rent, even though they arr
able to. They get in arrears and hang or
till tho last moment, when they pack W
| and move.
''Most Of the cases are Irishmen ant
Jews. Native Americans are rarest ant
| Germans next, Jews do not always q
on summons, but they often fight tn,
case in court, and cause the landlord 10
of trouble to prove his side. Jews ar,
good pay, but litigous Many Of then
have picked up a good knowledge Of thu
law, and conduct their own cases admir-
ably. l do not Now where the evictet
tenants go, but probably to cheaper quar-
tiers. We look after all that we can, ant
often we raise the money among ourselve
70 pay the rent. Sometimes we are i'm
posed on, too. New York Sun.
Jamaica's Laborins Population.
The island OF Jamaica is suffering i